The Charge

There's a hundred-four days of summer vacation And school comes
along just to end it. So the annual problem for our generation Is
finding a good way to spend it…

Nursery Manager: "Aren't you a little young to be a landscape
engineer?" Phineas: "Yes. Yes, I am."

Opening Statement

Disney's cartoon lineup has been somewhat inconsistent. On the one hand, you
have The Emperor's New School, which is just tedious; on the other you
have Kim Possible, which is just righteous. Well, move over, Kim, because
Phineas and Ferb are taking over the top spot. Kim has her hands full saving the
world, but Phineas and Ferb have a much more important job—having as much
fun as possible.

Facts of the Case

Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher are stepbrothers who live with older sister
Candace Flynn and their parents in Danville, Illinois. The boys (I'm guessing
that they're around 10 years old) want their summer vacation to be memorable, so
every day they pull off unbelievable and often outlandish stunts—building
a rocket, fighting a mummy, becoming flash-in-the-pan rock stars, giving a
monkey a shower, etc. When Candace isn't trying to look cool for her would-be
boyfriend Jeremy, she's trying to rat the boys out; however, even though the
boys make no attempt to hide what they are doing, the boys' actions are always
inadvertently covered up by the actions of the boys' pet, Perry the Platypus,
who is really secret agent "Agent P," constantly battling the
diabolical Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Dr. D from here on out).

The disc has ten shorts (from five episodes):

• "One Good Scare Ought to Do It, Parts I &
II"—The guys build the ultimate haunted house to scare the hiccups
out of their friend Isabella. Meanwhile, Perry must thwart Dr. D's. plans to use
his Disintevaporator Ray to destroy the secret lair of his mentor.

• "The Fast and The Phineas"—The guys trick out
their mom's car and enter a race, with Isabella and her scout troop as pit crew.
Dr. D plots to use his Deflatinator ray to deflate all the tires in the
race.

• "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror"—Seriously,
what description could possibly do justice to this title?

• "Are You My Mummy"—During a mummy movie
festival at the museum, the guys decide to explore the museum in search of their
very own mummy. There's a truly twisted musical bit inspired by the theme song
from The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Perry Platypus must prevent Dr. D
from using his Woodenator to destroy a beaver dam in order to raise the level of
the ocean.

• "Flop Starz"—Our intrepid duo hatches an
elaborate plan to become one-hit wonders, striking gold with their single
"Gitchee Gitchee Goo," which sounds exactly like something The Archies
would have churned out in their heyday. Perry races to stop Dr. D's skyscraper
robot from destroying the city.

• "Raging Bully"—Phineas finds himself facing off
against Buford, the school bully, in a no-holds-barred thumb wrestling match,
and seeks expert training from Evander Holyfield. Dr. D tries to celebrate his
birthday by using his Slavenator to take over the world.

• "Lights, Candace, Action—Candace lands the lead in
the movie The Princess Sensibilities, only to discover that the film is
being directed by Phineas and Ferb, who tweak the script a wee bit. Dr. D, who
has renounced evil, creates the Age Accelerator-inator so that he can pursue his
new dream of becoming a cheesemaker.

• "It's About Time, Parts I & II"—The guys
build a time machine; a mistake dumps them and Candace in the age of dinosaurs.
Perry the Platypus must come to terms with his emotions when Dr. D dumps him for
a new nemesis, Peter Panda.

The Evidence

It's hard not to like Phineas and Ferb. They're basically younger versions of
Ferris Bueller (complete with jealous older sister). They're intelligent,
well-mannered, active—moreover, they aren't trying to hurt anyone or get
in trouble; they just want to maximize their summer fun. Who can't relate to
that? Better still, the boys don't just sit around playing video games or
watching TV, but are out playing.

The boys' relationship with Candace is central to the show. They love
her—Phineas is excited at the prospect of Candace singing with Phineas and
the Ferb-tones in "Flop Starz." But for whatever reason—most
likely Older Sister Syndrome—she resents the boys' wild abandon, a feeling
exacerbated by her inability to rat them out.

The secret life of Perry Platypus is a surreal stroke of genius. It provides
a clever means to keep the boys' shenanigans from being discovered and it
prevents story lines from dragging, but most importantly, in a world in which a
platypus saves the world, nothing the boys do seems quite so farfetched. That
sort of warped humor is in evidence throughout; for instance, in "Raging
Bully," the obligatory montage of Phineas in training is intercut with
Buford the Bully's training—using gym equipment to practice giving wedgies
and swirlies.

Video is solid. The show features simple yet stylized animation, fairly
similar to The Emperor's New School. At times the animation is a bit too
simplistic, but overall it gets the job done.

The Dolby 2.0 mix is clear and aggressive, punching up the action nicely.
Actually, given the amount of music and general chaos in the show, a 5.1 mix
would punch things up even more.

There are some typical Disney extras—games and an activity center,
which the kids will like. They also have the "pitch" made by show
creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. The pitch is the first
episode of the series, "Rollercoaster" (not included on this disc),
shown through storyboards, with Povenmire and Marsh performing the dialogue, as
well as an early version of the opening song. Cartoons are generally sold with
pitches such as this instead of pilots due to the costs of assembling an
animation team for a single short. If you're a fan of cartoons in general, this
is a fun extra—kids probably won't be that interested.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

A bigger problem—more of annoyance—is Disney's money-grubbing
pattern of releasing individual DVDs instead of complete seasons. 'Cause I'm
gonna have to get the rest of them.

Closing Statement

This disc has it all—action, adventure, high drama, low comedy, musical
numbers, and a platypus who's a secret agent. Watch the opening sequence and get
sucked in by the show's raw exuberance. My kids eat it up, and the sly
pop-culture references make it fun for parents as well.

The Verdict

Phineas and Ferb rule!

Er, not guilty.

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